Boyle began his career in the theatre, serving as the artistic director (1982–85) at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and as deputy director (1985–87) at the Royal Court Theatre. In 1987 he made his directorial debut with the television movie Scout. He directed various other television projects before helming his first feature film, Shallow Grave (1994). The crime thriller—written by John Hodge, who became a frequent collaborator—was noted for its energetic visual style, which became a trademark of Boyle’s work. In 1996 the director scored his big breakthrough with Trainspotting. The darkly humorous look at heroin addicts, written by Hodge and featuring Shallow Grave star Ewan MacGregor, became an international hit and one of the United Kingdom’s highest-grossing films. MacGregor reteamed with Boyle on the romantic comedy A Life Less Ordinary (1997), but it failed to match the success of their previous efforts.

Boyle next directed his first big-budget Hollywood film, The Beach (2000), which featured a screenplay by Hodge based on Alex Garland’s popular novel about a seemingly utopian community on a remote Thai island. Despite starring Leonardo DiCaprio, it earned mixed reviews and failed to find an audience. In 2002 Boyle had a sleeper hit with the postapocalyptic zombie film 28 Days Later. He continued to show his versatility with Millions (2004), a heartwarming story about a motherless boy who finds the proceeds of a bank robbery.

After directing the science fiction thriller Sunshine (2007), Boyle helmed Slumdog Millionaire (2008), an unconventional romance set in India. Despite early doubts about the film—many questioned whether audiences would see a movie that contained scenes of extreme child abuse and torture and that featured extensive dialogue in Hindi with English subtitles—it was a huge critical and commercial success. Boyle received an Academy Award for best director, and Slumdog Millionaire won seven other Oscars, including best picture.

Boyle continued to earn acclaim with his next film, 127 Hours (2010), which he cowrote with Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy. The drama, which was based on a true story, centres on a hiker’s struggle to survive after his arm becomes trapped by a fallen boulder. 127 Hours received six Academy Award nominations, including one for best adapted screenplay.